[Cheryl1989]

Hi everyone, i have a strange question and i feel abit dumb for asking it but i really want to know lol. Ok i wear high heeled shoes all the time, just about, apart from when i go gym or play tennis and when im relaxing round the house, the problem i have is i cannot walk properly in flat shoes anymore and my legs ache, now when i started wearing heels i could not walk in them properly for ages and they hurt my legs for the first month or 2 but then i started to feel comfortable in them and i could even run lol which id seen women do before i started my change and always thought how the hell can they run in them lol. Now i hardly wear flat shoes when im out and having to walk any distance but the other day i put my trainers on to walk shop which is a mile away and i couldent walk properly, i was ploding along and my legs and tendons ached really bad, now i got abit worried, silly i know and my question is can wearing heeled shoes damage your legs or tendons because i have no idea why i cannot wear my flat shoes and feel comfortable any more, is anyone else like this, i know you have all been wearing heels longer than i have so what do you think? is this normal, one of my friends said its because my tendons have stretched because of the heels and its normal but i dont know if shes right or not lol. Anyway thanks for reading everyone.
Hugs Cheryl xxxx

[Nyx]

Article I found on Google...

Yes, wearing high heels does damage your legs and feet. I guess it is normal, like your friend said, but it's not a good thing :-/ You probably just need to cut down how much you wear heels and wear different ones each time so your legs and feet don't get stuck in that one position. When you do wear heels, try to stretch your legs and feet out when you sit down or something, too.

Have you ever tried wearing flats before? They come in sooo many different styles and they're very feminine. Only problem is that sometimes they're TOO flat and you feel like you're walking right on the ground LOL But they're a nice, casual and comfy alternative. Just don't forget to wear socks...

[Anastasia916]

I dress casual most the time, I only wear heels when going somewhere nice, so I have no clue about long term with this, but I have high arches and I can't wear completely flat shoes for long, like say flip flops. I have to wear shoes with some type of arch in them. It sounds to me like you trained your feet to be use to the higher arch in heels. What I wear most the time are wedged heels, when I worked in the states and did sales, I wore dress type shoes that resembled mens dress shoes except mine had a chunky heel. As far as flats go I make sure they have arch support in them, if they don't I buy arch support inserts if I really like the shoe and it doesn't have the arch support. That might also be a good alternative for you. When I wear flats without arch support, say flip flops... after an hour or so of standing or walking in them... my ankles, lower legs, etc. will hurt sooo bad that I can't even walk! So it sounds to me like you need arch support in your flats like I do. Around here, I jog alot for exercise, I wear tennis shoes with arch support, normally I find certain style of sketcher brand shoes to have the best support for my arches, but also I've had a few good pair of Adidas, Reebok, Nike, and K-Swiss, you just need to put your hand inside the shoe when looking for shoes, feel where your natural arch in your foot would go and select shoes that have the bump there inside, try them on. The first time you buy sport type shoes with arch support, it will take a bit to get use to them, I'd say a week of walking in them, but once you are use to them, you won't want to wear any other kind lol. You will be able to walk, run, jog, etc. everywhere without pain. And yes I agree that wearing heels non-stop everyday is probably damaging your foot, it's okay to wear them say half the time, but change it up everyday and give your feet time to rest in between so they don't get stuck in one position. It's like if you crossed your eyes all day everyday, your eyes would eventually get stuck that way, same thing. Hope this helps and I don't think it's a silly question.

[aradiarising]

I know it does some terrible things to your feet but don't heels also shorten your achilles tendon? I think I heard something about how if you start little girls wearing heels too early they can't wear flats because that muscle never fully developed. I agree with Anastasia, make sure to do a rotation with different height heels and flats and you should be fine.

[Nyx]

Yes, high heels also damage your Achilles Tendon. If you Google "high heels and health" or something similar (that's what I did), you'll find a lot of articles on the bad things about high heels, haha. Excessive wear damages your feet, ankles, calves, knees, lower back, etc.

Oh the things we do to be fashionable

[Cheryl1989]

Hi everyone, thanks for the advice, i just love the shape that heels give you and they make my legs look alot better lol thats why i think ive gone abit over the top wearing them, so im defoe going to alternate my foot wear. I thanks Anastasia ive actually bought some sketchers today with really good arch support and they feel ok so hopefully ill get use to them lol. I have to admit i have a major shoe problem at the minute, i see some nice shoes and really want them im terrible lol but thank you all for the advice.
Hugs Cheryl xxxx

[Sage]

I have a pair of Reebok Easy Tones. They feel kind of the way heels do. Not exactly but that was the first thing I thought of when I walked around in them. They also seem to do a pretty good job of toning the legs and butt. I can't prove it was them but I haven't really done anything else and my butt has gotten smoother. I also find them very comfortable.

Might be something to look into.

~Sage

[brayantkent]

Experts do not recommend wearing high heels frequently and for too long, as wearing them continuously may result in foot ache, blisters, cones etc. If you can't avoid wearing high heel shoes as your work requires it, make sure you bring a long with you a pair of slippers so that every free time you have just got to remove the high heel shoes and wear the flats. This will give your feet time to relax also.

[qJayz]

It is common knowledge that in the long run high heels can cause serious damages but there are tips to wearing high heels without giving them up. You can follow those steps that will help with your feet health.

[ximike]

High heels and an effective voice of the wearer to walk on tiptoe to reduce the distance between the ankles and the back of his knees. To compensate, the calf muscles contract and in general for competition, once again the accounts are deleted.